Scammed by an Online Pharmacy

There are many people who have become victims of the online pharmacy scammers. A responsible citizen would not be ignorant about such issues; rather she/he would report such incidents. It is difficult to track the person who scammed you so it is important to take necessary steps to prevent such scammers from succeeding again in future.

What can you do?

Once you have been scammed, you must post your story on as many review websites as possible. Such reviews help other customers make a wise and informed decision. Customers should use websites to report scams so as to allow others to benefit from your experiences. Whether it is a listed or unlisted pharmacy, one must share the experience with others. It is estimated that there would be around 10,000 online pharmacies by 2010. With this ever expanding industry, every citizen needs to vigilant.

If you suspect that these scammers have gained access to your online account or credit card details, you should call the bank or credit union immediately. Alerting the credit card company would limit your liability for the amount, in case of a fraud. Credit card companies may also be able to perform a ‘charge back’ (reverse the transaction) if you can convince them that your credit card was billed fraudulently.

In case the money is sent through an electronic funds transfer using the internet technology then you can ask the bank to immediately cancel the transfer. This helps to stop the transfer in case it is in process. If you are suspicious that a particular online pharmacy is a scammer and you have already sent a check, you can get the check canceled by contacting your bank. The same process could be followed if a wire service has been used.

What to avoid

Health is wealth. This is the golden rule for everyone. Money is not everything. After taking the drugs, if you discover that you have been mislead by recommendation of wrong doses of medication, and then you must immediately discontinue taking the medicine. One must see a doctor or other qualified medical professional as soon as possible. A doctor and a patient share a fiduciary relationship. Once you visit the doctor in person, you must inform him about the prescription given by the scammers. This helps the doctor in giving better treatment.

It is said that precaution is better than cure. The consumer should be aware of fake advertisements and do his preliminary research before making payments to such companies. He must keep his debit cards or credit card details safely and not share the personal identity with anyone. Money should be sent only after having complete trust on the transaction. Website address should be checked carefully as there are many phising websites which have their web addresses and designs quite similar to a legitimate site. You should try to avoid using public computers (at libraries or internet cafes) to do your internet banking. Softwares that auto completes the online forms should also be avoided.